


Christmas Lights Keep Shining On

by LouiseLouise



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Car Accidents, Christmas, Fuckbuddies To Lovers, Light Smut, Love Confessions, M/M, Major Character Injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:20:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28191576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LouiseLouise/pseuds/LouiseLouise
Summary: A car crash forces Eddie to reflect on his life and his relationship with Buck. As darkness replaces Christmas lights, Eddie can only hope it's not too late to fix what’s broken between them.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 279
Collections: 25 (More) Days Of Buddie





	Christmas Lights Keep Shining On

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the prompt "Twinkling Christmas Lights" for the Buddie Christmas Advent on Discord.
> 
> See end notes for more details (with light spoilers) about the injuries and the light smut.
> 
> Huge thank you to the formidable [marciaelena](https://archiveofourown.org/users/marciaelena) for the beta, the title, and the support!  
> All remaining mistakes are mine, English is not my first language.

Eddie can’t remember the last time he stopped to enjoy the Christmas decorations in the streets of Los Angeles. Strings of lights dangling from palm trees, fake snowmen waving from front yards. Plastic reindeers with red noses waiting on rooftops and bright Santas hanging from balconies, the absence of snow not stopping anyone from sharing the Christmas spirit.

It would be nice, if it hadn’t taken his truck getting hit by - Eddie’s not sure what hit him, actually, it happened too fast for him to see - by something big enough to wreck the hood of his truck and leave him for dead right in the middle of this intersection. The street lights aren’t on yet, despite the early nightfall. The only illumination comes from the decorations and from a few windows, giving the scene a cheerful note. Though not cheerful enough to distract him from the pain he feels lancing through his body, or from the taste of blood in his mouth.

His ears are ringing and when he tries to move to open the door and get out of this metal trap the ringing worsens, so he stays seated and breathes. In, out, in, out, repeat. Slowly, until the ringing starts fading and his mind can focus on what’s next.

He needs help. He needs to call someone. 911, he needs to call 911, he thinks, fishing for his phone in his jacket, groaning as pain shoots from his neck down his arm. He takes a few more breaths to steady his hands and stop them from shaking long enough to dial.

“911, what is your emergency?” the dispatcher asks. He doesn’t recognize the voice, and to his own surprise he realizes he was expecting Maddie, or Josh, somehow forgetting that they’re not the only dispatchers in LA.

“Car, I got hit,” Eddie says, coughing between words, splattering blood on his hand. Which is never a good sign. The lack of blood is not always a good sign either, he thinks. Shannon didn’t cough blood but she died anyway. 

“Sir, can you tell me your location?”

Eddie looks outside the shattered windshield but with only the Christmas decorations, far away and dim, he can’t make out any of the street signs.

“Can’t tell. Middle of an intersection.”

“That’s okay, sir. Can you tell me where you were coming from?”

“Home,” he says. He was coming from home, leaving his own party before most of the guests arrived. But he had a good reason.

-

“You seem… elsewhere, Eddie. Everything okay?” Bobby asks.

They’re standing in the kitchen, Bobby unwrapping what he and Athena brought while Eddie absentmindedly wipes some dishes, as if clean dinnerware can make him forget the turmoil in his heart and mind.

“Yeah, yeah.” He sighs. “No, not really.”

“You know I’m always ready to listen if you want to talk, right?”

“I know, Cap, thanks. I’m not sure you can help with this one. I’m not even sure I can do anything.”

“Someone wise once said, ‘you make a mistake, you have two choices. You either fix it, or you learn to live with it.’”

“Someone wise, huh?”

“Well, tv shows can be wise sometimes,” Bobby says with a grin, before putting on a serious face again. “What I mean is, you have to decide where to put your energy. Into accepting whatever happened, or figuring out if you can make it right.”

He should probably live with it, Eddie thinks. Not risk making things even worse, just let time pass. Water under the bridge and all that. He’s faced tougher hardships, always coming out of them stronger. Or at least that’s what he wants to believe.

Maybe he has it all wrong.

Maybe he needs to be the one who opens up his heart this time, about his fears. About all those other feelings he’s kept inside, hidden.

And maybe things are too damaged to be fixed, but he’ll never know unless he tries.

“Thank you, Bobby,” he says, pulling the man into a hug.

“I’m here for you, kid.”

“Hold on to that thought, because I’m going to need you to watch over Chris. For like an hour, maybe?”

“Now?”

“Hey, you’re the one who said I needed to figure things out!”

Bobby shakes his head, but Eddie knows his captain will always have his back.

“Go. But if you’re not here in an hour we’re starting without you.”

Eddie laughs. “Deal. Thank you, Cap,” he adds, heading out of the kitchen and towards Christopher’s room. 

“Can I watch cartoons?” the boy asks, trying to take advantage of the situation. 

“You can, but when Denny and the other kids arrive you go play with them, okay?”

Christopher nods.

“Okay, love you, son,” Eddie says, ruffling Christopher’s hair and pressing a kiss to his forehead.

“Love you, dad.”

Eddie takes one more look at his son before hurrying to the door, almost bumping into Hen, about to ring the doorbell as he opens it. 

“Where’s the fire?” she asks, frowning.

“Sorry, I have to-- Bobby’s in the kitchen, just give him whatever you brought and he’ll take care of it. I’ll be right back.” He rushes outside, quickly pressing a kiss to Karen’s cheek, a gesture that he’s never done before. Only Pepa and his Abuela get those kisses, but in this moment his mind is racing faster than his feet and everything is a mess, so he doesn’t have time to dwell on that any more right now. He needs to leave, and fix the mess he made with Buck.

“Sorry,” he calls out once more before getting into his truck. 

-

“Can you tell me your address, sir?” the dispatcher asks, and Eddie tries to focus back on that conversation.

“Yes,” he says, giving the woman his information. At least his brain seems to be functioning, even if the rest of him is just one ball of pain. His fingers are still shaking from time to time and he struggles to keep the phone up against his ear but he can’t let go, he needs someone to find him and help him so he can get back to his son, back to his family.

He promised he wouldn’t be gone for too long, and it _hasn’t_ been that long so no one should be worried yet, which means no one is looking for him, either. They’re probably busy making snarky comments and speculating about why he left before most of the guests arrived, and by now Christopher must have brought out all the board games and toys he can think of to share with the other kids.

Eddie needs to get back to him. He needs to hold his son tight and watch him open one present tonight, and all the others tomorrow morning, after Santa’s visit. That was the plan. That still is the plan.

“Dad,” Christopher had said a few weeks prior. “I know Santa’s not real.” And Eddie should’ve expected it, his son was no different than other kids his age in that regard, but it had still taken him aback. His little boy was growing up way too fast. “Do I still get presents?” The kid had asked, making Eddie laugh. 

“Yes, buddy, you still get presents.”

“Oh, okay.”

And just like that, Christopher had accepted the end of the myth. This kid was way more resilient than Eddie, surprising him every day.

“I need to go back to my son,” Eddie says out loud, as if that were enough to convince his body to not give up. 

“Can you tell me where you were driving to, sir?” the dispatcher asks.

Eddie takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. “Buck.” He was driving to Buck’s place to fix what he broke, if that was even possible.

-

“Fuck,” Eddie blurts out as Buck starts kissing his neck. He’d pulled Eddie into the bunk room as soon as their shift was over, his hands not wasting any time now as they work on undoing Eddie’s belt. Even if Eddie can’t shake the fear that this could backfire really quickly if anyone from the team were to enter the room, he can’t resist Buck’s touch. He doesn’t want to resist.

All he wants is to lose himself in the feeling of Buck’s lips on him, and to hell with the consequences, as long as he gets to come apart in the hands of the man he loves. Even if said man doesn’t love him back. 

Buck whispers sweet nothings into Eddie’s ear, and that’s enough for him to pretend this isn’t just some friends with benefits arrangement. 

“Fuck,” Eddie repeats, his brain already overwhelmed with pleasure.

“That’s the idea, yeah,” Buck says, smirking before sliding his hand into Eddie’s pants.

The alarm rings, making them jolt and stop instantly. The station around them becomes all shouted orders and roaring engines, heavy footsteps on top of the constant ringing. Then the noise stops, as abruptly as it started, and when the trucks are gone silence falls again. They’re alone now, safe to continue, but their moment has passed.

“Fuck.” Buck sighs, forehead landing on Eddie’s shoulder, resigned. 

Eddie smiles, fingers combing through Buck’s hair. “Or not.”

They both let themselves fall into the nearest bed, sitting side by side. It’s nice, calm, and Eddie wishes it could always be like that. The sex may be amazing, but he’d give anything to be more than Buck’s fuck buddy. He’d give anything to never watch him leave his bed before sunrise, before Christopher wakes up and asks questions. He’d love nothing more than to just hold Buck’s hand in the grocery store, and kiss him in the middle of a crowd, like couples do. But they’re not a couple, not like that.

After the first time, Eddie had waited for the inevitable ‘this was a mistake’. But it never came, so he’d thought that maybe if it wasn’t a mistake then it could be something good.

“I should probably go,” Buck had said instead, putting his clothes back on. So Eddie had waited for ‘this can never happen again’. But that never came either, so Eddie had thought that maybe they could build something from there.

But every time Buck didn’t stay, and every time they didn’t talk about telling the others, Eddie felt more and more like this wasn’t going anywhere. It was comfort after a rough call and fighting loneliness between shifts, but nothing else. Still, he couldn’t get himself to stop and give Buck up, no matter how pathetic that made him.

“Still coming early tomorrow?” Eddie says, adjusting his belt back on. “I could really use the help.”

“I don’t want to say I told you so, but remember when I told you that it was a bad idea to host both Christopher’s school party and the 118 Christmas dinner the same week?”

“Yeah, yeah, you were right. Happy now?”

Buck smiles, wider than ever. “Very.” He presses a kiss to Eddie’s lips, taking a moment to look him in the eyes. “Hey, I thought--” he pauses and shifts on the bed, looking hesitant. “I thought maybe the party would be a good time to tell people about us?”

Eddie snorts. That’s the last thing he expected to hear Buck say. “And say what? Can you please pass me the salt, oh, by the way, Buck and I are fucking.”

Buck leans away, staying silent for a moment, eventually nodding. “No, no, you’re right, that’d be stupid, huh.” He stands up, heading for the door. “You know, I don’t think I can come and help tomorrow. Forgot I had a thing in the morning.”

The tone of his voice is cold, and Eddie’s not sure he’s ever heard it before. He doesn’t understand his friend’s reaction and he’d like to ask. But he can hear the trucks coming back and their engines shutting off. Soon people are going to fill the place, and a crowded firehouse is possibly the last place they should have this conversation in.

“Buck, come on,” Eddie says. “Let’s not do this here, okay?”

“You know what, Eddie? Let’s not do this at all. Whatever you thought this was, it’s over.”

The door closes behind Buck and Eddie’s left alone and without a clue about what just happened. About why Buck would suddenly want to share their sleeping arrangements with the world, on Christmas, no less.

Buck’s voice echoes in Eddie’s head. _It’s over_. “Fuck,” he says to the empty room, and his heart starts to break.

-

“I’m sorry sir, I didn’t get that. Can you give me the address you were driving to? I’m having a hard time locating you, any information would help us find your vehicle.”

Eddie closes his left hand into a fist, nails digging into his skin, forcing his mind awake. He gives Buck’s address and the woman on the other end of the line sighs in relief.

“Thank you, sir. Help is on the way. Can you tell me if your headlights are still on?”

Eddie leans in towards the windshield and sees some light spilling onto the road. “Yes.”

“Good. Now you need to stay where you are and let the first responders find you, okay?”

Eddie shakes his head no. He was going to see Buck, he can’t just stay here waiting. “I need to see him,” he says.

He shouldn’t have let Buck walk away yesterday. He should have gone after him and asked him, right there in the middle of the truck bay, why he wanted to tell everyone when there was nothing to tell. When Eddie had been keeping his feelings to himself for weeks even while it destroyed him. Now Buck wanted to celebrate that?

He’s not even sure anymore why he wants to see Buck tonight. What good could it do, telling him that he loves him? Wouldn’t he risk tearing them apart even more? Or could that help them both move on and eventually go back to being friends? Just friends is not that bad. Friends means he still has Buck in his life, and that’s all Eddie really wants.

“I think my legs fell asleep, I need to move them,” he says. It feels like he’s been in the same position for too long. His fingers fidget with the seatbelt for a moment until he manages to set himself free. “Gonna walk a little.”

“Sir, you need to stay still until the paramedics can check up on you.”

“Maybe I could walk to his place, it’s not that far.”

“Sir,” the dispatcher says, but Eddie’s not listening anymore. He gets out of the truck and the fresh air feels good on his face. His legs don’t feel as good, they feel weak and give way under him. He tries to grab the door handle to stay up but fails, and in an instant he falls, arms and knees hitting the ground, sending fresh waves of pain through his whole body. The tarmac feels damp and cold against his cheek.

He brings the phone to his ear again. “I fell,” he says. He doesn’t hear the answer, but pictures her shaking her head at the idiot who left his car after an accident. He should know better, he saves idiots from accidents for a living. It’s too late, though; now all he can do is wait.

For death or the ambulance, whichever comes first.

“They won’t get here in time,” he says, closing his eyes. His mouth doesn’t taste like blood anymore, but maybe he just can’t feel it. Maybe this is how it ends. “The calls are recorded, right?” He knows the answer, but he needs a second to figure out what he wants to say.

“This is Firefighter Diaz, with the 118. You need to tell my son-- tell Christopher I--” There’s a knot in his throat as he thinks about his son, all alone now. He wonders who’s going to tell him that his father’s not coming back. He wonders how long Christopher will miss him. Does the pain stop, one day? He still misses Shannon, so maybe it doesn’t.

“Tell my son I love him,” he says with his last bit of strength.

There’s a ringing in his ears again, and he can feel his heartbeat speeding up, chest pressed against the ground. There’s light around him. Through his eyelids, barely open now, he can see the twinkling Christmas lights hanging from a balcony across the street. All red and white. 

They should’ve put some up, Christopher, Buck, and him. If Buck had come to help, Eddie would’ve taken the box of lights out of storage and they would’ve spent an hour arguing about where to put them, and how much is too much. Christopher would’ve laughed the whole time. It would’ve felt good, almost like a family, the three of them. It would’ve been a lie, but a nice lie.

Now he’s never going to see his son again, and he’s never going to kiss Buck again, either. So he stares at the lights, imagining them in his front yard, picturing the people he loves around him. It might be a little pathetic to still pretend at this point, but if it’s the last thing he sees, he might as well imagine something beautiful.

-

The lights are bright when Eddie opens his eyes again. The noise in his ears has switched from ringing to beeping, and under him a hospital bed has replaced the road. His body feels heavy and there’s a cast on his left arm. He can barely move. But he’s alive.

“Not dead, then,” he says to the empty room, unsure of who he’d expected to be there by his side.

His son, definitely. Abuela. He’d never admit it but he’d do anything for a hug from his mom right now, even if he knows she’s too far away for that. His team. Buck.

“The surgery was long,” the nurse says when he comes to check Eddie’s vitals. “Let me go check the waiting room and see if your family’s still there, okay?”

Eddie nods and waits for the man to leave the room before he lets the tears roll down his cheeks.

He’s fine. Or maybe not fine, but alive. He’s alive, and he’ll heal, and it makes sense that the team couldn’t stay that long for him. So where is this despair coming from? He shouldn’t be unsettled by an empty room. He’s alive, and he’s been through worse.

He feels so tired. And if no one stayed then he has no reason to fight the urge to fall back asleep, so he closes his eyes and allows himself some rest.

-

Eddie wakes up again to the same room, but this time it’s not empty. Buck’s looking at him from the sofa, Christopher with his head on his lap, fast asleep. His son looks peaceful and there’s a small smile on Buck’s lips, and that’s enough to make Eddie feel like everything’s going to be okay. His favorite people are here with him, he can breathe again.

“Hey,” Buck says, and the sadness in his tone suddenly reminds Eddie that he and Buck were not in the best of terms before all this. 

“You stayed,” he says, not sure why his friend is here when the last time they saw each other Buck seemed determined to never see Eddie again.

Buck carefully repositions Christopher on the sofa as he stands up, pouring Eddie a glass of water when he comes to stand by the bed. “Your son made a pretty convincing argument for us to let him sleep here with you, so I caved.”

“He made his puppy dog eyes, didn’t he?” Eddie says before sipping from the straw that Buck holds to his lips.

Buck nods.

“You taught him that, so I’d say that’s on you. But that’s not what I meant, Buck. Anyone could’ve watched over him.”

Buck shrugs, putting the glass back on the nightstand. “Just because you don’t lo-- even if we’re not--” He takes a deep breath. “Eddie, I didn’t stop caring about you when we broke up. I’ll never stop caring.”

“I thought I’d lost you.”

“Says the man who almost died on Christmas Eve while driving who knows where instead of staying home and putting mini pizzas in the oven for his guests.”

“I was driving to you. To your place, I mean. I wanted…”

Buck frowns. “Eddie, why would you... why didn’t you just wait for me to get there?”

“I didn’t think you were coming,” Eddie says, frowning too. “You were upset. Even if I don’t know why you pushed me away, I know it’s my fault. That’s why I needed to see you, so you could explain it to me. So I could apologize.”

“Eddie, there’s nothing to--” Buck stops himself, turning towards the sofa when there’s a sound behind him. “Hey, sleepyhead,” he says, and Christopher smiles from under the hospital blankets tucked around him. “Looks like both Diaz boys are awake now, huh!”

“Dad! You’re up!” Christopher cheers, slowly sitting up. Buck picks him up and carries him towards the edge of the bed, helping him to carefully give Eddie a good morning kiss. 

“Christopher, hey.” Eddie puts his good arm around his son to hug him the best he can, only letting him go when he starts feeling some pain in his limbs. “How are you? Did you sleep well here, with Buck?”

Christopher nods, and his smile warms Eddie’s heart. “He read me a story, and the nurse gave me a blanket.”

“I’m sorry you didn’t get to open your presents this morning, kid.”

“Buck says the best present is that you’re okay.”

Eddie looks at Buck, his heart doing a funny dance in his chest when the man looks back at him, blushing, and Eddie wishes for nothing more than to pull him close and kiss that face, kiss those lips and never let go.

But the past forty-eight hours changed everything, Eddie’s aware of that.

“Abuela said Santa would keep my presents until you wake up,” Christopher adds. “She looked sad so we can’t tell her that Santa isn’t real, okay?”

Eddie and Buck laugh in unison and for a short minute, everything feels the way it should be.

“She went home, after the doctors warned us the surgery would take a while,” Buck says. “I should call her, and everyone else too, let them know you’re awake.” He turns to leave the room and Eddie feels like they’re never going to finish the conversation they need to have.

“Hey,” Eddie says before Buck reaches the door. “We’ll talk later, right?”

Buck nods, but the sadness in his eyes gives a different answer, and he’s gone before Eddie can say anything more.

-

“You got here fast, Cap,” Eddie says, happy to see Bobby’s familiar face.

“I was in the neighborhood,” Bobby says, taking the chair by the bed. He’s the first one to visit, showing up five minutes after Buck walked out, with coffee and donuts that Eddie probably won’t be allowed to have for a few days.

“Your coffee cup has the hospital logo on it.”

Bobby shrugs. “Well, technically the cafeteria is in the neighborhood.”

It feels good to have his captain here, caring about him as much as he cares about everyone on the team, no matter how long they’ve been working together. Uprooting his and his son’s lives to LA didn’t come without struggles, but joining the 118 was never one of them.

“Thank you, Bobby.”

Bobby opens his mouth to answer when Buck comes back, pocketing his phone as he sits on the edge of the bed.

“I spoke to everybody, whoever isn’t working is gonna come by later,” he says.

As happy as Eddie feels to see his friends and family, there’s one thing he still needs to do before that, one thing he can’t do with people around.

“Hey, Cap,” he says. “Would you mind taking Chris to the cafeteria? I’m pretty sure the growling I just heard came from this starving stomach.” Christopher giggles as Eddie tickles him, reveling in that beautiful sound.

“Sure can,” Bobby says, helping Christopher off the bed.

“You just got here, Bobby. I can go,” Buck offers.

Bobby puts his hand on Buck’s shoulder before he can stand up. “We’ll have time later, don’t worry. You boys finish what you started,” he says, nodding at Eddie with a knowing look.

“Thanks, Cap.”

Silence fills the room as Eddie tries to figure out how to start the conversation again, but Buck beats him to it.

“Rumor has it that you got out of your truck before the paramedics got there.”

Eddie silently curses whoever shared that part of the events, with Buck of all people. “I wasn’t thinking clearly. I just wanted to talk to you.”

“You weren’t thinking at all.”

“Hey, I was in shock. Don’t judge.”

“I’m not judging, Eddie.” Buck shakes his head. “But you could’ve died back there. What were we supposed to do then? What was so important that it couldn’t wait?”

“You. You were that important. You still are.”

Buck takes his time looking at Eddie before he speaks. “I don’t get it, Eds. One minute we’re just fuck buddies and the next you almost die because you can’t wait to see me. So which one is it?”

Eddie knows this is the moment he’s supposed to open his heart. Be honest with the man he loves and hope that maybe, when everything's out in the open, they can start rebuilding their friendship. He knows, but he can’t find the words or the courage.

“I fucked up, I know,” is the best he can do.

“No, you just-- we just didn’t want the same thing, Eddie. We should’ve talked about it, a long time ago, so that’s on me too. But I didn’t want to lose you, and I thought it could be enough, you know. But then I had to open my mouth and ask you to tell everyone. I’m the one who fucked up, because just fucking wasn’t enough anymore.”

“Buck…” Eddie’s not sure he’s making sense of what Buck is trying to tell him. He’s even pretty sure it’s the opposite of what he was expecting Buck to tell him. “You want more?” 

Buck nods. “Sorry,” he whispers. “I know that’s not what you want.”

Eddie tries to shift on the bed, to grab Buck’s hand, but the cast and the wires connecting him to the machines get in his way. “Okay, I’m gonna need you to do all the work here, ‘cause I can’t really pull you closer on my own. To kiss you, if that’s still something you want.”

“You want to kiss me? Eddie, you heard what I just said, right? About me wanting more, and you wanting… not more?”

“I never said I didn’t want more.”

“You said, and I’m sorry if I’m paraphrasing, we’re just fucking, why would we tell anyone that?’’

“Because I thought that’s what you wanted. Casual sex. No strings attached. No telling anyone. No staying the night for breakfast. I thought it was enough for you. So I made it enough for me, too.”

Buck stares at him again, blinking slowly, mouth working a few times before any words come out. “Fuck, Eddie, I want all the strings, all the attachment. I want to wake up with you every day and make breakfast for you, and for Christopher. That’s all I ever wanted, but I thought--”

“We both thought a lot of stupid things, didn’t we?” Eddie says, relief making him laugh.

Buck chuckles. “Yeah.”

“I want everything with you too, Buck. And I want everyone to know.”

Buck smiles, shifting on the bed to lean in closer. “Everything, then,” he says, pressing his lips against Eddie’s.

“Everything,” Eddie repeats, managing to lift his hand enough to cup Buck’s face, holding him in place as their kiss deepens, until they both need to catch their breath.

Moments later, there’s a soft knock on the door, and Buck leans back just as Bobby steps into the room, Christopher behind him.

“Look who we found on our way back,” Bobby says, holding the door to let Pepa and Abuela in.

“Eddito!” Abuela says, with the same cheering tone as her great-grandson, and suddenly this room that had felt so empty before is now filled with love.

The love he gives, and the love he receives. From his son, his family. His team, rallying around him as they arrive one by one, or four at a time. From the man who owns his heart. 

Eddie watches as they all gather around him. As Bobby and Maddie set plates of food on the small hospital table, as Chim and Athena cover the sofa with presents wrapped with shiny bows, under the eager eyes of all the kids.

He watches as Buck hangs a string of Christmas lights, red, yellow, and green, that appeared out of nowhere and was absolutely not ‘borrowed’ from the cafeteria by someone tall enough to swiftly grab it.

He watches Karen put Nia in Hen’s arms for a minute to lean in and press a kiss to his cheek. “Merry Christmas, Eddie,” she says with a wink.

“Okay, now it’s Christmas,” Buck says as he plugs the garland in, even if the lights are too dim to illuminate more than the wall they’re on. 

Everyone cheers and Eddie laughs, grateful for every single person in the room. Grateful for the ambulance finding him in time. Grateful he gets to spend more time with the ones he loves and see his son opening his presents.

Buck heads back towards him to sit by his side on the edge of the bed, taking Eddie’s hand in his.

It may not be the Christmas they had planned, but they’re making it work. As a family.

**Author's Note:**

> About the injuries: there are no graphic descriptions, I mostly focused on Eddie's feelings  
> About the smut: No graphic descriptions either and the sexy times is interrupted anyway
> 
> Thank you for reading! You can find it on tumblr [there](https://theladyandthewolves.tumblr.com/post/638037684781252608/christmas-lights-keep-shining-on).
> 
> Kudos, emoji and comments warm my soul and help me write more ♥


End file.
